Picture this: NASA on Instagram

By Reid Davenport

Sep 06, 2013

NASA's Instagram page on the afternoon of Sept. 6, 2013, before the launch of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer.

NASA inaugurated its Instagram page on Friday, in time for the launch of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, scheduled to take off for the moon Friday night from the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

The spacecraft will orbit the moon to gather information about the lunar atmosphere.

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"We're constantly looking to expand our social media portfolio to include tools that will best tell NASA's story of exploration and discovery," NASA press secretary Lauren Worley said in a news release. "Instagram has a passionate following of users who are hungry for new and exciting photos. We believe we have some of the most engaging images on and off the planet -- and we can’t wait to engage with Instagrammers."

NASA also has pages on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Flickr, Foursquare, Reddit and other sites. Instagram was added in July to the more than 60 GSA-approved tools and apps available to federal agencies.

About the Author

Reid Davenport is an FCW editorial fellow. Connect with him on Twitter: @ReidDavenport.